


The snow hare and the hound

by AnAntagonist



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Youkai, Canine attack, Hinata Okuri-Inu, Japanese Mythology & Folklore, Komaeda Yuki-Hare, Komahina Week 2021, M/M, Mild Blood
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-04
Updated: 2021-01-04
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:28:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,448
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28493889
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnAntagonist/pseuds/AnAntagonist
Summary: Of Hinata, canine lord of the road who may only kill under certain conditions, and Komaeda, a snow hare with self-sacrificing tendencies.
Relationships: Hinata Hajime/Komaeda Nagito
Comments: 6
Kudos: 62





	The snow hare and the hound

**Author's Note:**

> Leelo en español: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28493823
> 
> This is my piece for the Komahina week from this year! I use the prompt from day 4: Snow / Cold. This is a fic that I had half done for a couple of months and I finished it in mid-December to be able to publish it on this day. It's a bit different than what I normally do but I'm very happy with the result. I like to read about Japanese Folklore and me an my partner started an RP almost a year ago with this AU. Just as he made his contribution to last year's Komahina week with the presentation of the characters, I decided to do it in fic format for this year ♥
> 
> Red's drawing that comes with the fic: https://twitter.com/goldpavilion/status/1254559778535342081?s=20
> 
> All the love in the world to Red for the translation and the summary ♥ he's my king!

As though walking under a flour sifter, the merchant accumulated snow on the wide wing of his hat as he advanced down the stairs. On his way, the trees closed on both sides of the road leaving an indefinite strip of clear sky above, with the full moon in the middle. The leaves remained still and silent in the absence of wind, for which reason the cold was bearable even in that month, so far into the icy season.  
  
Sunset had surprised him on the way out from the temple deep in the mountain, and the sky had darkened so fast that he’d barely made it a quarter of the way back, even in a rush. If he looked back, he could still see the great crimson archways with their glistening golden decorations, one after another, signaling the way he’d traversed.  
  
In the dark of the road, the small flame trembled as the paper lantern swayed at the end of its stick with each step taken, barely showing the road a couple of meters ahead. His attention was caught by the murmur of a large hare digging into the solid sheet of snow that had accumulated from the previous snowfall and the cloudy day hadn’t managed to melt. The man stopped for a moment, keeping silent, observing the curious animal.   
  
The white fur, just a little blonde and slightly pink on the tips of the ears, paws and snout, made it nearly invisible at first sight. But that close to the road, with a couple of bright green leaves on its back and digging so intently it had caught his attention despite that. The idea of a rabbit stew in such cold weather was quite attractive, especially to compensate for the late hour at which he’d arrive home, worrying his wife and children. Even the strong smell of alcohol on his yukata could be overlooked!  
  
Cautiously he approached, even leaving his sandals behind to go on just his socks and make less noise walking over the fresh snow. The hare, with its head buried in the hole it was making, didn’t notice the predator. It continued digging persistently, throwing back a shower of snow and some dirt, until it reached the small sprouts and tender roots so scarce in that season. But the naive creature sensed no danger, neither from the man approaching, nor that of the red, penetrating eyes that observed from the depth of the woods, beyond where the light reached.  
  
 _“If nighttime on the forest roads catches you alone, there is a high chance the loneliness is false and from the shadows follows you the Okuri-inu, lord of the road. Be careful. The great hound will follow your every step, vigilant and attentive, with its red eyes fixed on your feet at the wait that a twig, a stone or your own clumsiness makes you trip.”  
  
_ The heavy gaze was noticed by the traveler who, dominated by terror, began to retreat. He dragged his wet socks back through the snow and into his sandals, and with slow movements took his lantern back up to continue his way. The silence of the woods was now evident, too unnatural. Not even the hare’s digging remained, the animal had stopped and curiously stood on its hind paws with its ears raised up, backed by the long and thin leaves like blades of spring grass. Its olive eyes, too profound and intelligent to belong to a mere animal, stayed fixed on the man.  
  
Now, overly conscious of the way he walked, he found it hard to advance quickly. The alcohol dragged his feet and bent his way, his nerves made his knees tremble more than the cold and any irregularity on the worn stone steps felt like mines on a field. He could feel the weight of the bright red eyes on himself from the depths beyond, lost from sight and reappearing between the wide tree trunks.  
  
The expected happened and the stone surface, slippery from the ice, made him stumble and fall, rolling several steps down and losing his lantern as well as one sandal.  
  
 _“And if by chance you trip… you can count yourself among the dead, since the great hound will pounce on you and make you his dinner.”  
  
_ A shadow emerged from the woods, stepping once on the stone edge of the road, its great weight making a muffled sound before it leaped onto its prey. The traveler had no time to get up before a wild bark made his blood run cold, paralyzing him from fear. He could only see a creature of dark fur and a flash of white and red before feeling the pain on his arm.  
  
The sharp teeth sunk into the flesh, tearing it as the beast shook its head, making the warm blood wet the man’s clothes and drop onto the ice over the stones, leaving trails of steam due to the contrasting temperatures. The man’s screams echoed in the silent mountain as the struggle grew harder.  
  
As big as the beast was, as sharp as its fangs were, death under a canine wasn’t something clean and quick. Much less if the prey resisted so much, frustrating the animal’s every attempt at reaching the neck, always finding the man’s already wounded hands or forearms between its jaws.  
  
The hare then appeared on the side of the road, reaching the scene on quick and agile hops nearly in complete silence. Its white body charged against the dog’s face, managing to pry it apart a few moments, before it fell on the human’s chest. From there the hare used its strong hind legs to hit the beast’s snout, making it retreat with a pained whine.  
  
The white animal jumped to a side of the stairs, kicking up some snow as it did, and as its figure was somewhat lost among it, there appeared that of a young man with thick white hair and skin as pale as moonlight.  
  
“Run! Don’t stop on your way! Have hope and live your life to the fullest! Don’t look back!” The light voice sounded urgent, the young man still lying on the ground, just raising himself up on his elbows.  
  
It was his chance! The man wouldn’t waste it. The traveler dragged himself away from the canine, leaving large red drops behind contrasting in the white of the snow and the light gray of the stone. Nothing more than his life mattered, leaving behind his shoe and lantern he lifted himself and ran with all his might, as the young man had told him, without looking back. The thick drip of blood marked the way he, limping but quick, had fled.  
  
The dark-fur beast had taken steps back. Shaking its head, it ran its paw over its snout trying to mitigate the pain, confused by what had just happened, it took precious seconds to recover and notice its dinner had escaped.  
  
Its crimson eyes found the figure already fleeing in the darkness of the pathway, he could still reach him if he hurried. But as he leaped, a weight prevented him from advancing more than some centimeters. When it lowered its gaze it saw it, buried in long dark fur, the white puff that was the boy’s woolly hair, hugging it around the waist and clinging with white fingers to fistfuls of black hair. The canine growled and barked, clearly expressing its annoyance in an attempt to intimidate him quickly and recover his prey.  
  
“Leave him be! If he goes on his way you can’t attack him again! He’s walking! Let him go!” The screams, muffled by its fur, sounded like pleas. From among the puffy white hair, swayed by the movements of the head, long pale ears fell to the man’s back, and from the back of these could be seen the two green leaves. The thin youkai began to tremble, not just from being in a light sky-blue summer kimono, but from being before a predator.  
  
The great dog tried to shake him off, to drop to the ground and roll, leaving traces of snow in its fur, but the young man clung on to the strands so strongly gripped in his delicate hands. Growling in frustration, the dog finally took its human form, ending up sitting in the middle of the road with the hare boy on his lap, hugged to his waist.  
  
“No! That’s if he goes the whole way without tripping! He tripped! So he’s mine! What are you getting involved for without even knowing how it works?!” He growled out, finally pushing the other away more easily with his human hands, though not holding back from using a foot to kick him farther.  
  
The young man of dark brown hair stood up. Unlike the other, he wore an outfit appropriate for the season. The snow was brushed off the thick, mottled gray winter fabric before it could melt there and wet it, same as the brown fur haori that warmed his shoulders. Atop the brown hair, two large wolf-life ears rose, as well as a curved tail on his back.  
  
 _“But there’s hope! If you just trip, or barely fall, quickly pretend that it hasn’t been an accident! Sit on the ground and loudly say: how tired I am! Or pick something off the ground as though it was always your intention, that way you can fool the youkai and save your neck.”  
  
_ “He didn’t trip. He was tired, there wasn’t much light, he was just picking up his lantern that fell.” The hare’s quick excuses only made the tan-skinned canine sigh, closing his eyes in exasperation.  
  
After speaking the hare also rose, fixing the light fabric of his kimono. Without an extra coat, even wearing his sandals without socks, it seemed like the youkai was confused about the time of the year they were in. The deep V that the garment formed over his bony chest made his heavy agitated apparent, as well as the breath condensing before his mouth.  
  
“Besides… he’s already far away.” He continued softly, though still urgently. “He’s about to finish his way. If you’re hungry… you could use me as your dinner.” The white-haired man’s bony hand fell on his chest surely, yet his eyes avoided the predator’s.  
  
“It doesn’t work that way. If you haven’t tripped...” He hadn’t even finished his sentence when the hare simply took one step and let himself fall on the snow at the side of the road. The brown-haired man grumbled, fed up, as though it was a very bad joke. “You’re faking it! You’re not even walking a road! Are you messing with me?!”  
  
From the ground the other smiled, tilting his head and letting one of his long ears fall on the side of his face. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” He rose, again brushing snow off his clothes. “I thought it might work, but aside from being big and bad, you’re also a smart wolf.” The joking tone was sudden, but an attempt to relax and dissipate the other’s bad mood. “By the way, my name is Komaeda.” Shaking his hand to bring his ear behind again, he put his hands inside the short sleeves of his kimono, leaving his bony wrists uncovered.  
  
The dog huffed, imitating the gesture of shielding his hands from the cold inside his sleeves, much longer and better for covering. “I’m not some big bad wolf, like in a kid’s stupid tale. If you care to know, I’ll tell you about that.” His mood had changed some, after all.  
  
The hare widened the smile he already wore and the long ears stood up, backed by the leaves as tall and wide and the ears themselves. “I’m all ears, I’d love to hear that tale, mister wolf.” And without another word, he began walking down the road, in the opposite direction in which the human had fled.  
  
The redness from the cold on his nose and cheeks caused a blush in the canine as well, who averted his gaze and followed the other’s steps by instinct. “To start with, I’m not a wolf, I’m a dog. You can call me Hinata,” he mumbled quickly, before breathing in and speaking more at length. “Many know just the part about failing on their way and losing their lives, but they seem to conveniently forget the part about how, while they’re walking their road, I’m taking care of them. No wolf, thief or any other youkai will attack if I’m with them… they should be more grateful, instead of panicking every time they feel my presence.”  
  
“Would you watch my road, then? Us hares have very bad eyesight,” the request came without hesitation nor fear.   
  
The canine stared at him with eyes open wide, somewhat confused, it had been years since anyone had voluntarily asked him for his care and he’d become used to being feared, being evaded… to finding empty roads at night. He nodded his head, barely making a small sound of approval and lowering his ears against his head.  
  
The thin and bony hand of the hare abandoned the shelter of his sleeve, stretching out to point at the road towards the temple. “I came to visit my friends today. I do it every new moon, but I didn’t realize it was getting dark so early and I hadn’t even eaten all day… it’s hard finding food during winter.”  
  
“Every new moon? Sounds kind of sectarian,” said the brown-haired man, having raised his ears again when the other began to talk. Keeping up to the other’s rhythm, he remained always a little behind him, not even looking at where they were going or where he pointed to, but just following.  
  
The soft laughter was barely a murmur in the nightly silence. “Our ancestors made a promise to make a good deed every new moon, and so we follow it, meeting every new moon at the temple.”  
  
 _“It is said that many centuries ago, when humankind began to stray from its peaceful path and malice began to contaminate their souls, four fellows found themselves so terribly anguished at such a future prospect they decided to do something about it. These four friends, a money, an otter, a fox and a hare, made a promise to perform one charitable act every new moon in an attempt to instill goodness in the hearts of men.”  
  
_ The canine raised his eyes to the sky, where the round and bright moon reigned over the night. “And your good deed was saving that man?”  
  
“No, that’s something I would’ve done without needing a promise. Human lives are beautiful, they’re such enigmatic creatures. My good deed was for you. I wanted to be your dinner.”  
  
“You’re an idiot, it’s a miracle you made it to adulthood with ideas like that,” he growled disapprovingly, frowning.  
  
Once again the hare’s laugh was like a murmur, lost in the soft sound of snowflakes landing on the scenery.  
  
For a brief stretch of the road neither of them spoke, just walking with one another, passing under the red arches and having their footsteps erased soon after, covered by the light snow. Feeling it tingling on his fur, the canine brushed it away from his ears, and ended up just shaking it off his whole body when he noticed it had fallen not just on his hair, but also his shoulders.  
  
“Anyway… what kind of good deeds did your friends do? You could consider the promise kept, you did something charitable for that man,” he insisted, once done shaking everything off.  
  
“Charity isn’t the sole act of saving a life.” The hare’s footsteps halted before a fox statue. The gray stone was barely visible under the little mounds of white that had collected. With his long and slender fingers, the hare brushed the snow off its face, revealing the icon’s empty, carved eyes. “They gave that man their own food, while I… had nothing to give. Just like with you.” He lowered his face to look at the statue’s feet, where under an awning rested several amulets and small offerings that travelers had left. “On the contrary, I took your food. How can I consider it charitable to take something from someone, and give it to another? It’s an awful thing to do. And you must agree on this, you were quite angry at me.” He smiled, tilting his head to look at him, one long ear falling against his face again.  
  
“At sunset on the day of the promise, as the four animals were returning each to their home, they found on their way a hungry beggar. With great skill, the money climbed a tree to mitigate the man’s hunger with kaki fruits. The otter, meanwhile, used its fishing ability to bring him a fresh catch, and the fox brought a mountain mouse it had nimbly hunted… however, the hare had nothing it could give or get him.”  
  
“But you offered yourself…” The dog’s eyes softened as he watched the seemingly cheerful hare. “Even if I don’t accept your charity, you offered it and good will is a lot more genuine than an act of obligation.”  
  
 _“With nothing to offer the hungry beggar, the hare closed its eyes and leaped towards the campfire, only to be stopped by the man’s hands, which caught it midair, before its body could be hurt.”  
  
_ Komaeda blinked a couple of times before shrugging and smiling wider, as if what the other had said was the most adorable thing his large ears had heard. “I had nothing else, and even then I wasn’t enough, but I understand. I’m thin, I’m skin and bone at this time of the year and I haven’t built up much of a food reserve. You might even suspect I’m ill, I’m just not appetizing.” Illustrating his point, he lifted his kimono sleeve a little, showing his thin arm and angular wrist, almost as white as the snow in the woods.  
  
“It wasn’t because of that, I already explained. Tsk, you don’t listen, you’re ignorant about my legend and you assume too much. You really are an idiot.” Frustrated, the dog again shoved his hands into his sleeves.  
  
The white-haired man just answered with a smile before turning on his way towards the woods, wordlessly passing by the fox statue and walking a short distance.  
  
“This is my home, ergo, the end of my road,” he suddenly said, having stopped in the middle of what looked like just woodland.  
  
Hinata looked around, looking for a house, a cave, a cabin hidden between the trees, even a den on the ground, but didn’t see anything. Without asking, he just looked back at the other expectantly, both his ears and his tail raised. “So? Aren’t you gonna give me anything? Even a stick, the obi on your waist or some sprout you picked up will do. Ah… and you should clean your paws before turning your back to me.” As he gave the warning, his tail swayed a little.  
  
“I know your legend well. I’m aware of what to do, but I don’t want to. I hope you’ll keep your part, Hinata-kun~” he said in a sing-song voice.   
  
_“There’s one way to be rid of the demon dog, if you manage to make it to the end of the road safe and sound. Turn to him, don’t be afraid, since it won’t attack you anymore, leave an offering, anything will do but the more valuable it is to you the more the demon will appreciate it. And before you enter your home, clean your shoes, brush the dirt or the snow from the soles and you’ll never find him on your way again.”  
  
_ Hinata looked at the hare with widely-open eyes again, surprised by what it was deliberately asking of him. Slowly he nodded, not noticing the blush that tainted his cheeks. He’d watch over the hare’s path every time it walked through his territory, and it continue be like that until he cleaned his shoes or tripped on the way.  
  
Komaeda returned the gesture with a bow, before turning him back to him and losing himself behind one of the many thin tree trunks. The white-barked birch trees shone silver when the moonlight came into view over the grove, displaying clearly the shadows of its craters, in which Hinata thought he saw one resembling a hare.  
  
 _“The beggar that had caught the hare showed his true form as a deity to the four animals, and in gratitude, granted the hare a dwelling on the moon for the rest of eternity, so that the whole world would know of the altruistic deed it had performed.”_


End file.
